Roy Raymond had an inspired idea back in 1977. But it wasn't enough to build a $6bn empire. As the fashion giant prepares for its 2013 show, Naomi Barr tells its story
To understand how novel Raymond's idea was, it helps to have a little context. In the 1950s and '60s, underwear was all about practicality and durability. For most American women, sensual lingerie was reserved for the honeymoon trousseau and anniversaries. For the most part, underwear remained functional, not fun.
Victoria's Secret changed all that, thanks in large part to its catalogue, which reached customers across the country. Nowadays it also has stores across the Americas and has expanded into the Middle East and Europe, with a store opening in London last summer. Its annual fashion show, which takes place in New York tonight, costs $12m, is televised on CBS and makes international stars of its models, known as Angels.
Within five years of founding Victoria's Secret, Raymond had opened three more stores in San Francisco. By 1982, the company had annual sales of more than $4m – yet something in Raymond's formula was not working. According to Michael J Silverstein and Neil Fiske's book Trading Up, Victoria's Secret was nearing bankruptcy.
Wexner quickly saw what was wrong with the business model: in focusing on a store and catalogue that appealed to men, Raymond had failed to draw a large following among women.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Chinese confuse Sweden with Switzerland
Sweden and Switzerland have launched a joint awareness campaign to help Chinese tourists tell the two countries apart
In an effort to put an end to the mix-up, the Swedish and Swiss consulates in Shanghai have launched a competition on the Swedish Consulate website, asking Chinese people to come up with funny ways to help differentiate the two countries. Submissions can be accepted as a blog post, cartoon, photo, short film or in any other format.
China was the biggest spender in international tourism last year, overtaking Italy, Japan, France and Britain, and is the world's fastest-growing tourism source market, according to the latest figures from the World Tourism Organization earlier this year.
In an effort to put an end to the mix-up, the Swedish and Swiss consulates in Shanghai have launched a competition on the Swedish Consulate website, asking Chinese people to come up with funny ways to help differentiate the two countries. Submissions can be accepted as a blog post, cartoon, photo, short film or in any other format.
The winner with the best submission will receive a 12-day trip to Sweden and Switzerland and will be expected to report back on their impressions of both countries following the trip, the website states.
China was the biggest spender in international tourism last year, overtaking Italy, Japan, France and Britain, and is the world's fastest-growing tourism source market, according to the latest figures from the World Tourism Organization earlier this year.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
'Everyone in Russia has gone mad'
Once punched on TV, fugitive property developer Sergei Polonsky has been arrested in Cambodia and faces extradition to Russia on fraud charges. Before his latest drama, he spoke exclusively to the Guardian about his mounting financial and legal problems
Polonsky is one of the more colourful characters in the Russian oligarch milieu, frequently posting semi-literate rants on his Facebook page that usually end with the words "Abracadabra Boom!" He was known for his unorthodox business style and for declaring, at the peak of the Russian property boom, that anyone who did not have a billion dollars should go to hell. He once fulfilled a promise that he would eat his tie if real-estate prices did not go up, seasoning a square of tie fabric with salt and pepper, and gobbling it up on live television.
In late 2011, Polonsky was assaulted on television by Alexander Lebedev, owner of the Independent and London Evening Standard newspapers. The pair were taking part in a studio discussion on the global financial crisis, and Polonsky became increasingly agitated with his fellow guests, eventually saying he wanted to "punch someone in the chops". At this point, Lebedev himself jumped up and dealt a right hook to Polonsky, knocking him off his chair.
Lebedev's trial, on the bizarre charge of "hooliganism motivated by the hatred of businessmen as a political class", took place this summer, and was complicated by Polonsky's arrest in Cambodia on New Year's Eve, when he and several friends were accused of assaulting local sailors. He was released from jail in Cambodia in April on bail, under agreement that he would not leave the country. Almost immediately, he fled to Israel, where he applied for citizenship.
Polonsky is one of the more colourful characters in the Russian oligarch milieu, frequently posting semi-literate rants on his Facebook page that usually end with the words "Abracadabra Boom!" He was known for his unorthodox business style and for declaring, at the peak of the Russian property boom, that anyone who did not have a billion dollars should go to hell. He once fulfilled a promise that he would eat his tie if real-estate prices did not go up, seasoning a square of tie fabric with salt and pepper, and gobbling it up on live television.
In late 2011, Polonsky was assaulted on television by Alexander Lebedev, owner of the Independent and London Evening Standard newspapers. The pair were taking part in a studio discussion on the global financial crisis, and Polonsky became increasingly agitated with his fellow guests, eventually saying he wanted to "punch someone in the chops". At this point, Lebedev himself jumped up and dealt a right hook to Polonsky, knocking him off his chair.
Lebedev's trial, on the bizarre charge of "hooliganism motivated by the hatred of businessmen as a political class", took place this summer, and was complicated by Polonsky's arrest in Cambodia on New Year's Eve, when he and several friends were accused of assaulting local sailors. He was released from jail in Cambodia in April on bail, under agreement that he would not leave the country. Almost immediately, he fled to Israel, where he applied for citizenship.
Teenagers say goodbye to Facebook and hello to messenger apps
Gradual exodus of young people towards WhatsApp, WeChat and KakaoTalk is just as their mums and dads get the hang of social networking
Facebook made a startling admission in its earnings announcement this month: it was seeing a "decrease in daily users, specifically among teens". In other words, teenagers are still on Facebook; they're just not using it as much as they did. It was a landmark statement, since teens are the demographic who often point the rest of us towards the next big thing.
Their gradual exodus to messaging apps such as WhatsApp, WeChat and KakaoTalk boils down to Facebook becoming a victim of its own success. The road to gaining nearly 1.2 billion monthly active users has seen the mums, dads, aunts and uncles of the generation who pioneered Facebook join it too, spamming their walls with inspirational quotes and images of cute animals, and (shock, horror) commenting on their kids' photos. No surprise, then, that Facebook is no longer a place for uninhibited status updates about pub antics, but an obligatory communication tool that younger people maintain because everyone else does.
Facebook made a startling admission in its earnings announcement this month: it was seeing a "decrease in daily users, specifically among teens". In other words, teenagers are still on Facebook; they're just not using it as much as they did. It was a landmark statement, since teens are the demographic who often point the rest of us towards the next big thing.
Their gradual exodus to messaging apps such as WhatsApp, WeChat and KakaoTalk boils down to Facebook becoming a victim of its own success. The road to gaining nearly 1.2 billion monthly active users has seen the mums, dads, aunts and uncles of the generation who pioneered Facebook join it too, spamming their walls with inspirational quotes and images of cute animals, and (shock, horror) commenting on their kids' photos. No surprise, then, that Facebook is no longer a place for uninhibited status updates about pub antics, but an obligatory communication tool that younger people maintain because everyone else does.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Digital innovation for social change
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/64203e92-4747-11e3-b4d3-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2kAGFKLk3
From finding lost children in China, to sharing experiences of illness, to using ‘unsmart’ phones to fight corruption – the Nominet Trust has spotlighted 100 groundbreaking applications of digital technology
From finding lost children in China, to sharing experiences of illness, to using ‘unsmart’ phones to fight corruption – the Nominet Trust has spotlighted 100 groundbreaking applications of digital technology
As these examples show, social innovation is not just coming from Silicon Valley but from developing countries, too. In Brazil, an open-source culture has created Catraca Livre and the remarkable Fora do Eixo, a co-operative which organises thousands of cultural events across the country through a cashless barter system. Mexico, meanwhile, has produced Medicall Home, a revolutionary national primary healthcare service based on the mobile network. These cases highlight how innovation flowers when technology reaches people with urgent needs but few resources and no option but to come up with novel solutions.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Ad break: George Clooney and Matt Damon for Nespresso, Lexus, M&S
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/08/lexus-ad-nespresso-george-clooney-matt-damon-m-s
Watch the Hollywood heavyweights in a coffee advert, drones in motion for the car brand and the retailer's festive fantasy
Watch the Hollywood heavyweights in a coffee advert, drones in motion for the car brand and the retailer's festive fantasy
Exporting media - The exception
http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21589227-britain-surpassingly-good-selling-songs-and-talent-shows-tv-exception
Britain is better at exporting media than almost anything else. The world’s biggest newspaper website, Mail Online, is British. British musicians have supplied the world’s bestselling album in five out of the past six years, and the country accounts for 13% of the global album market. “We’re about twice as good at this as we are at selling other services, and four times better than we are at selling goods,” says Geoff Taylor, head of the BPI, the record labels’ trade association.
Despite a glut of reality shows on television, an episode of “X-Factor” can draw as many as 10m viewers in Britain. It has conquered the world, too. Versions of it exist in about 40 countries, from Colombia to Kazakhstan. It is in the vanguard of British exports of reality-TV formats—a small industry, but one that Britain unquestionably dominates.
Britain is better at exporting media than almost anything else. The world’s biggest newspaper website, Mail Online, is British. British musicians have supplied the world’s bestselling album in five out of the past six years, and the country accounts for 13% of the global album market. “We’re about twice as good at this as we are at selling other services, and four times better than we are at selling goods,” says Geoff Taylor, head of the BPI, the record labels’ trade association.
Despite a glut of reality shows on television, an episode of “X-Factor” can draw as many as 10m viewers in Britain. It has conquered the world, too. Versions of it exist in about 40 countries, from Colombia to Kazakhstan. It is in the vanguard of British exports of reality-TV formats—a small industry, but one that Britain unquestionably dominates.
Viral Video Chart: Morgan Freeman, Miley Cyrus and One Direction
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/08/morgan-freeman-miley-cyrus-beyonce
1. Morgan Freeman Reads The Fox by Ylvis
The silver fox
The silver fox
2. Buzzcocks – Huey Morgan smashes mug and walks off
Pop goes the china
Pop goes the china
3. Emotional baby! Too cute!
Tot-ally overwhelmed
Tot-ally overwhelmed
4. Evolution of Beyoncé - Pentatonix
Deja Vu
Deja Vu
5. "The Hobbit" Couch Gag from "4 Regrettings and A Funeral" | The Simpsons | Animation on Fox
What you Tolkien about?
What you Tolkien about?
6. Virgin America Safety Video #VXsafetydance
Fasten your seatbelts …
Fasten your seatbelts …
7. Holland's Got Talent 2013 - Amira Willighagen (9)
Dutch-ess of song
Dutch-ess of song
8. The LEGO® Movie - Official Main Trailer [HD]
Film build-up
Film build-up
9. YouTube Challenge - I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy 2013
Pumpkin mash-up
Pumpkin mash-up
10. What does the duck say? - Karaoke Party
Pie Die Pew off key
Pie Die Pew off key
Source: Viral Video Chart. Compiled from data gathered at 14:00 on 7 November 2013. The Viral Video Chart is currently based on a count of the embedded videos and links on approximately 2m blogs, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
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